Race to the White House

On election day, November 6, Global Kids leaders who participated in the "Race to the White House" this past summer, presented the results of their program at the Brooklyn Public Library. Race to the White House was a program that used GPS technology and Geocaching to create a game to engage the public in a conversation about the presidential election and to discuss issues that were important to participating youth and their community.

The youth placed GPS-linked "travel bugs" (metal tags) with questions related to public policy issues in public locations and posted the coordinates online for other geocachers to find. The students selected policy issues ranging from internet censorship to college tuition costs. Players in New York can vote on the importance of each issue by choosing to physically move the bug closer to, or farther from, the White House, and writing about why they made that choice on the geocaching website. The students monitored the responses to their challenge and the location of the bugs and presented the results to other youth including other GK leaders from John Adams School.

See the video below, where the GK leaders talk about their participation in Race to the White House and what they learned

Brianna explained what geocaching was and their process of coming up with difference electorial issues to highlight within the game. She also encouraged the Grantmakers to experience a mini-scavenger hunt during the reception and gave sticker prizes to those who completed the task.

We wanted to send a heartfelt congratulations to Mahnoor Misbah, our intern this past summer for earning Adelphi University's first Community Fellow of the Year award due to her work here at Global Kids. We are incredibly proud of her and wish her continued success. Check out the article below!

Mahnoor Misbah (pictured at left) with students during our Race to the White House Program

Education Week featured a story which highlighted our Race to the White House and NYC Haunts programs. Read the full story below.

Osarieman Igbinevbo, 17, right, and her teammate, Miguel Zeng, 18, discover a geocache inside a disused Fire Department call box in New York City. The Global Kids program uses the treasure hunt and technology to teach students about public-policy issues.

—Emile Wamsteker for Education Week

Educators see them as learning labs

A Teacher Summer Fellow collaborated with Global Kids this summer in a digital media program in which GK youth leaders and youth from the Brooklyn Public Library created a game about political issues that might be impacted by the upcoming presidential election this November 6, 2012.

Thanks to the support from the National Summer Learning Association, Yiram Aldouby, a dean and music teacher from the High School for Global Citizenship in Brooklyn joined the Race to the White House. Race to the White House was a technology program that took place over a period of two weeks in which youth used the platform geocahing to create a game with an emphasis on political issues.

Yiram was involved in all aspects of the program, from the initial planning sessions to its final implementation. Having someone who was comfortable with digital media and who also works with youth in an urban setting was of great value for the success of the program. He participated actively in the workshops, facilitating some of them and always guiding the youth in their research and all aspects of the program.

Race the the White House was a program in which Global Kids youth leaders, and other youth from the Brooklyn Public Library, created a geo-locative about electoral issues using the platform geocaching. In this post, I will write about my experience with the program, what were some of the lessons learned as an educator, and what was able to observe were the affordances the program provided to the youth.

Race to the White House was a program designed with the purpose of raising awareness about issues relevant to the upcoming presidential election. At the beginning of the program, youth participants were introduced issues during the presidential election. These issues were introduced in a historical context by presenting them political ad campaigns from the cold war (Lyndon B. Johnson) to the present.

So today is th elast day of us working in The Race to the WhiteHouse program before the workshop. The biggest take away from the program was the things I learned about the topics we picked. I have a better understanding on things that effect me in our community and country.

my participation in the race to the white house has taught me that you could have other people take your issue and either bring it closer to the white house or move it far away from the white house that skills that it has taught me is public speaking and and also has taught me to also collaborate with other people the biggest take away for me participated in the rac to the white house is that I havent got to spend time with friends and hang out more in baseball but at the end of the day I have enjoy myself in this program what i want people to learn about the race to the white house program is that weather your young person or an adult yopu can always make a diffrence and get your point across.

For the past two weeks I learned a lot of new things such as geocaching, working navigational devices, and work well with others. Geocaching is a new thing to me. I love the fact that your voice can be heard through playing scavenger hunt.Geocaching is a great invention! I got so immune to this job now its going to be hard to go. wellllll, It was nice knowing you. BYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About Global Kids

Global Kids, Inc. - the premier non-profit educational organization for global learning and youth development - works to ensure that urban youth have the knowledge, skills, experiences and values they need to succeed in school, participate effectively in the democratic process, and achieve leadership in their communities and on the global stage.

About OLP

The Global Kids Online Leadership Program (OLP) integrates a youth development approach and international and public policy issues into youth media programs that build digital literacy, foster substantive online dialogues, develop resources for educators, and promote civic participation.